Ninja mon - The correct answer is none or not enough. I can't believe so many people/fighters don't believe or are against running! This is ridiculous. Most people don't do it because they hate it. It's a mentally tough thing to do to put in that road work which is why so many people and fighers don't like doing it. I've met a ton of high level fighters don't do it, I've met a bunch that are against it.

I'm all about running. The results are amazing. Boxers run a ton, and have been doing this for years on end. I think they know what they're talking about. This method has been used for fighting 12-15 round fights. I see so many mma fighters gas out so quick, even on the highest levels. I personally think a lot of this is from the lack of running. I run a ton. Mainly long-distance running, although I need to add sprints in. I can see the results in my dojo because I'm not even thinking about getting tired! It gives me so much cardio and confidence! It's amazing. There is nothing like the feeling u get from running it's amazing!

This.

It is amazing seeing HIGH LEVEL athletes gas-out within 5 minutes in the Octagon.

I mean what did Carwin get diagnosed with before? Lacticosid Adosis or some shit? Mother of Christ..

The operative word here is DOJO.

Try taking your PJ's off and going 5 minutes with legit wrestlers and tell me you're not winded. Running a few miles on a treadmill isn't going to help gain that type of cardio. You need to do sprints and wrestle hard for long periods to gain it. That's why fighters gas so hard in fights. In addition to the fact that they lose wind due to being struck hard and due to the adrenaline rush. It's not as black and white as it seems. Do you really think there's an epidemic of lazy fighters entering the cage when millions of dollars are potentially at stake?

Come on, hombre.

These so call athletes get called the FITTEST MEN ON THE PLANET yet can't do 5-10 minutes worth of work?

That's why I rate Triathlon and TDF competitors as MUCH filter athletes than fighters. Those are seriously top level people.

Wasn't there a fight in the UFC before where two heavies we both keeling over, absolutely fucked during a fight? It might it have been in the UFC, but I know it was a good level that those two were on, yet they had the cardio of your average Joe.

MMA is the only sport where even the top guys aren't physically prepared to compete for the duration for their schedeuled event.

MMA fighters (generalising) do not spend too much time with S&C, they spend too much time with training gimmicks instead of meat and potatoes conditioning like boxers and wrestlers concern themsevles with. Put down the club/kettle bell and underwater rock and pick up your running shoes.

MartialArtsMixed - Thanks for all the great input and suggestions but for some reason I feel like running long distance does help when I look at guys like nick Diaz who never gets tired.

It does. It just isn't fun, so guys find reasons not to do it.

It truly is very hard on your ankles, knees, and hips though... especially when you run flat-footed or heel-to-toe, like so many people STILL think is the proper way to run, instead of on the balls of your feet: the way your body is biologically designed to perform (lord knows why more people haven't figured this out, with all the research out there).

Running as much as the Diaz brothers do extremely improves the low-intensity, sustained endurance factor of your cardiovascular system, which is a foundation that helps you improve the high-intensity endurance factor in training (sparring, sprints, circuit training, etc). It is likely that the Diaz brothers can perform more quality sprints, circuits, rounds, and so on before exhausting themselves and thus can train harder and fight harder for longer periods of time. However, I believe you can achieve this same level of endurance in disciplining yourself mentally to push through those extra reps and circuits just as you can push yourself to keep running.

Fighting is almost purely about repeated, short bursts of high-intensity. Boxers are less susceptible to things such as knee injuries because they are always upright and avoid many of the awkard angles and positions that grapplers and MMA fighters find themselves in: most specifically their legs. It is my personal opinion that, once you have built up a solid foundation of low-intensity cardiovascular endurance, it is more productive and safer to devote your time to sprints and sparring and run long distance only once a week, if that, because at that point distance running carries more risk than reward, or more negative than positive.

After that it is all about what you put into it. Either approach requires you to work your ass off if you want to be in good enough shape to fight a full fight.

If a fighter gasses repeatedly, it doesn't mean they aren't running... or rather it DOES mean they aren't running a lot, but more importantly it means they just aren't putting enough work in ANY area of their endurance training.

If it is true what was said, that GSP hardly runs distance, if at all, he should be the prime example of why it is not totally necessary for MMA training.

MMA is the only sport where even the top guys aren't physically prepared to compete for the duration for their schedeuled event.

MMA fighters (generalising) do not spend too much time with S&C, they spend too much time with training gimmicks instead of meat and potatoes conditioning like boxers and wrestlers concern themsevles with. Put down the club/kettle bell and underwater rock and pick up your running shoes.

Boxers fight 3 minute rounds and have 1 minute to rest in between rounds.Wrestling is usually 2 x 3 minute periods with 1 minute rest in between.MMA is usually at least 3 x 5 minute rounds with 1 minute rest in between. Big difference.

in addition, knee mobility is far more important in MMA than it is in boxing. It's important in wrestling, but you don't see very many life long wrestlers. Running is rough on the knees.

Sprints work best for the what is required in MMA! Its about working within you're explosive range and speeding up you're recovery time. You want to train you're body to be able to give the greatest amount of effort and then quickly lower you're heart rate back down and recover in that 30sec-1min time you have to rest. Everyone who is pointing to Boxers who run long distances do not comprehend the difference between the exertion in boxing vs grappling! I would bet good money that an elite wrestler could go longer before exhaustion practicing boxing than a an elite boxer could go in a wrestling practice.

MartialArtsMixed - Thanks for all the great input and suggestions but for some reason I feel like running long distance does help when I look at guys like nick Diaz who never gets tired.

It does. It just isn't fun, so guys find reasons not to do it.

It truly is very hard on your ankles, knees, and hips though... especially when you run flat-footed or heel-to-toe, like so many people STILL think is the proper way to run, instead of on the balls of your feet: the way your body is biologically designed to perform (lord knows why more people haven't figured this out, with all the research out there).

Running as much as the Diaz brothers do extremely improves the low-intensity, sustained endurance factor of your cardiovascular system, which is a foundation that helps you improve the high-intensity endurance factor in training (sparring, sprints, circuit training, etc). It is likely that the Diaz brothers can perform more quality sprints, circuits, rounds, and so on before exhausting themselves and thus can train harder and fight harder for longer periods of time. However, I believe you can achieve this same level of endurance in disciplining yourself mentally to push through those extra reps and circuits just as you can push yourself to keep running.

Fighting is almost purely about repeated, short bursts of high-intensity. Boxers are less susceptible to things such as knee injuries because they are always upright and avoid many of the awkard angles and positions that grapplers and MMA fighters find themselves in: most specifically their legs. It is my personal opinion that, once you have built up a solid foundation of low-intensity cardiovascular endurance, it is more productive and safer to devote your time to sprints and sparring and run long distance only once a week, if that, because at that point distance running carries more risk than reward, or more negative than positive.

After that it is all about what you put into it. Either approach requires you to work your ass off if you want to be in good enough shape to fight a full fight.

Hahaha - this is the best piece of bro science in this thread by a long shot. Running heel to toe is not correct? You mean the way that 99.99% of the world's population runs by instinct is incorrect?

It sounds like you bought into some Madison avenue marketing scheme designed to target retarded Americans into buying these:

You absolutely must have good aerobic conditioning in order to process and recover from the biproduct of the chemical reaction that happens after explosive movements occur. IIRC, aerobic conditioning is key for gluconeogenesis.

Running distances isn't the only way to achieve this type of cardio but it definitely works. Few things are harder on the body than authentic Thai boxing and those dudes do lots of roadwork.

Bottom line is running is hard so people find evidence to support not doing it.

Im not a fighter but i run almost every day. Sometimes for 25 mins and sometimes for just over an hour. I dont measure distance or anything. The coolest part about running every day is that I dont even need to breath through my mouth AT ALL when running at this point. My cardio is insane right now.

MartialArtsMixed - Thanks for all the great input and suggestions but for some reason I feel like running long distance does help when I look at guys like nick Diaz who never gets tired.

It does. It just isn't fun, so guys find reasons not to do it.

It truly is very hard on your ankles, knees, and hips though... especially when you run flat-footed or heel-to-toe, like so many people STILL think is the proper way to run, instead of on the balls of your feet: the way your body is biologically designed to perform (lord knows why more people haven't figured this out, with all the research out there).

Running as much as the Diaz brothers do extremely improves the low-intensity, sustained endurance factor of your cardiovascular system, which is a foundation that helps you improve the high-intensity endurance factor in training (sparring, sprints, circuit training, etc). It is likely that the Diaz brothers can perform more quality sprints, circuits, rounds, and so on before exhausting themselves and thus can train harder and fight harder for longer periods of time. However, I believe you can achieve this same level of endurance in disciplining yourself mentally to push through those extra reps and circuits just as you can push yourself to keep running.

Fighting is almost purely about repeated, short bursts of high-intensity. Boxers are less susceptible to things such as knee injuries because they are always upright and avoid many of the awkard angles and positions that grapplers and MMA fighters find themselves in: most specifically their legs. It is my personal opinion that, once you have built up a solid foundation of low-intensity cardiovascular endurance, it is more productive and safer to devote your time to sprints and sparring and run long distance only once a week, if that, because at that point distance running carries more risk than reward, or more negative than positive.

After that it is all about what you put into it. Either approach requires you to work your ass off if you want to be in good enough shape to fight a full fight.

Hahaha - this is the best piece of bro science in this thread by a long shot. Running heel to toe is not correct? You mean the way that 99.99% of the world's population runs by instinct is incorrect?

It sounds like you bought into some Madison avenue marketing scheme designed to target retarded Americans into buying these:

Interesting. Bro science based on what, your opinion? Human instinct being a source of factual information is laughable, but for arguments sake I'm going to assume you have never paid attention to people running barefoot? Because the instinct there is to run with a forefoot strike. This is how the human body evolved to survive way back before we became cilivized and had to run from predators/after food, because you generate more force and thus can run faster, while the natural musculature of the leg absorbs the impact with each step, softening the amount of force absorbed in the ankle, knee, hip joints and spine. Striking with the heel generates much more force into a dense spot without much cushion and those joints suffer from the impact.

What shoes you wear mean fuck-all in any kind of exercise when it comes to body mechanics. The fact is that evolution has dictated how our bodies are supposed to move. Don't take my word for it:

Peter Larson, Ph.D in Biology from University of Ohio

"A recent study demonstrated that cross-country runners who habitually use a forefoot strike suffered about half as many injuries as those who were rearfoot strikers."

OneGloveJimmerson - Sprints work best for the what is required in MMA! Its about working within you're explosive range and speeding up you're recovery time. You want to train you're body to be able to give the greatest amount of effort and then quickly lower you're heart rate back down and recover in that 30sec-1min time you have to rest. Everyone who is pointing to Boxers who run long distances do not comprehend the difference between the exertion in boxing vs grappling! I would bet good money that an elite wrestler could go longer before exhaustion practicing boxing than a an elite boxer could go in a wrestling practice.

You might not win that bet. I have seen many high level wrestlers/grapplers die after 1 round of sparring. I have also witnessed a high level amateur boxer tire out seasoned grapplers (although he did get tapped out many times) after a few weeks of learning the basics, due to his endurance.

When I competed, one of my nick names was the "energizer bunny", cuz I didn't get tired (standing or grappling). Everyone always asked me how I got my endurance and I told them running. Even after seeing me, some people still insisted running was not necessary.

Running takes heart. Yes, I also did sprints, but distance running was the key. Not talking about jogging around the park checking out the chicks (what I normally do now), but running 6 plus miles, with hills, at a 6-7 minute pace. That will get anyone in great shape.

All these guys are right.There's no instant gratification with running, there's no cheerleaders cheering you on. No announcers or fans screaming at your amazing play or KO.It's all about you and how bad you want it, how much work you've put in, and how hard you're willing to go.

I've never had better cardio than when I've been running long distance.If you never have to worry about your cardio, all you have to worry about is your technique. And your opponent's are screwed, you're going hard the whole game and not tiring because you're used to sustaining a high pace like that. People really do break like you hear Joe Rogan talk about when they're in the cage with a high endurance athlete like Nick Diaz.

Running is only bad for your knees if you don't do it correctly. Like mma, technique matters. It's a much better way to achieve fitness than biking, etc, and running at an aerobic pace actually prompted recovery while also conditioning the body to burn fat efficiently and to burn a higher ratio of fat to sugar

OneGloveJimmerson - Sprints work best for the what is required in MMA! Its about working within you're explosive range and speeding up you're recovery time. You want to train you're body to be able to give the greatest amount of effort and then quickly lower you're heart rate back down and recover in that 30sec-1min time you have to rest. Everyone who is pointing to Boxers who run long distances do not comprehend the difference between the exertion in boxing vs grappling! I would bet good money that an elite wrestler could go longer before exhaustion practicing boxing than a an elite boxer could go in a wrestling practice.

You might not win that bet. I have seen many high level wrestlers/grapplers die after 1 round of sparring. I have also witnessed a high level amateur boxer tire out seasoned grapplers (although he did get tapped out many times) after a few weeks of learning the basics, due to his endurance.

When I competed, one of my nick names was the "energizer bunny", cuz I didn't get tired (standing or grappling). Everyone always asked me how I got my endurance and I told them running. Even after seeing me, some people still insisted running was not necessary.

Running takes heart. Yes, I also did sprints, but distance running was the key. Not talking about jogging around the park checking out the chicks (what I normally do now), but running 6 plus miles, with hills, at a 6-7 minute pace. That will get anyone in great shape.

Wow did you go 6-7 minute pace the whole 6 miles with hills? That's incredible.

It is two a.m. Dan Gable can't sleep. He gets out of bed and does sit-ups and push-ups. It is eight a.m. Dan Gable is running several miles on a dirt road. It is one p.m. Dan Gable is lifting weights and punching the heavy bag. It is four p.m. Dan Gable is starting a 2-hour workout in the 95-degree heat of the wrestling room. It is 7:30 p.m. Dan Gable runs to the local food store, makes a few purchases and runs back to his apartment. It is 10 p.m. Dan Gable is doing isometrics in his apartment.

I train myself 6 times a week. Usually on Mondays my mornings begin from running. I run in the pine forest in the suburb of Novosibirsk. My usual morning training goes on for an hour or an hour and ten minutes. The distance is a little more than 10 km. My evening trainings on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday constitute a work on a mat with sparring-partners. Wednesday is the day free, but we, wrestlers, have a very specific rest. We play wrestling basketball. It looks like American football, but we don’t use protective ammunition and throw a ball to a basket to get points. On Saturdays we play football (soccer). This is my usual regime. Trainings become more intensive during period of preparation to Russian, European and World championships and Olympic Games.

All in all, my wrestling trainings take 8-10 hours a week and more. However, everything depends on my condition and an opinion of my trainer Victor Kuznetzov who determines a plan of trainings and loads.

As I mentioned, running is a very important component of my exercises and trainings. Crosses help me to do my shape better. Special effect can be reached during series of trainings at the mountain sports bases. Good breathing is the component of a success for any athlete. Experienced wrestlers know that oxygen starvation can be a wrestler’s weak spot. This sense is very unpleasant.

too much other stuff to worry about then long distance running more then 2x a week in mma... training usually 2x a day wrecks you and then to run 5 miles a day on top of it is a good way to break down your body and it will be hard to recover.

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